Pariksha SaathiCommonly Confused Words Questions with Solutions
These word pairs sound alike, look alike, or get mixed up in casual speech — but each has one fixed, distinct meaning, and exam questions test exactly that distinction. Here’s the approach, four fully worked examples, and a few to try yourself.
The approach, quickly
- Learn confusable pairs by their distinct core meaning, not by spelling similarity — "affect" (verb, to influence) vs "effect" (usually a noun, a result) is a meaning distinction, not a spelling one.
- "Stationary" (not moving) and "stationery" (paper/pens/writing materials) are completely unrelated in meaning despite the near-identical spelling — a classic trap.
- "Principal" (the head of a school/institution, or a noun/adjective meaning "main") and "principle" (a fundamental rule or belief) are distinguished by context: a person/main thing vs. an idea.
- Comparison words like "than" (used to compare two things) and sequence words like "then" (next, at that time) serve completely different grammatical roles — read the sentence’s function, not just its sound.
Worked examples
1. Choose the correct word: "The news will ___ our decision." (A) effect (B) affect
Solution
- The sentence needs a verb meaning "to influence" — that’s "affect." "Effect" is usually the noun for the resulting outcome, not the verb for influencing.
Answer: affect
2. Choose the correct word: "He is taller ___ his brother." (A) than (B) then
Solution
- Comparing two things ("taller... his brother") needs the comparison word "than," not the sequence word "then."
Answer: than
3. Choose the correct word: "I am happy to ___ your invitation to the ceremony." (A) except (B) accept
Solution
- The sentence needs a verb meaning "to agree to receive" — that’s "accept." "Except" means "excluding," which doesn’t fit here.
Answer: accept
4. Choose the correct word: "The school’s ___ addressed the students during the assembly." (A) principle (B) principal
Solution
- The sentence needs a noun for the head of the school — that’s "principal." "Principle" refers to a fundamental rule or belief, not a person.
Answer: principal
Try these yourself
Identify the distinct meaning each word carries, then check against the answer.
1. Choose the correct word: "Honesty is an important ___ to live by." (A) principal (B) principle
Answer: principle
2. Choose the correct word: "She bought some ___ from the shop near her office." (A) stationary (B) stationery
Answer: stationery
3. Choose the correct word: "The car remained ___ at the signal for several minutes." (A) stationary (B) stationery
Answer: stationary
Where this comes up
Commonly Confused Words is tested directly in the English Language section of every exam Pariksha Saathi covers — SSC CGL, SSC MTS, SSC CHSL, IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO and SBI Clerk.
Practice more Commonly Confused Words questions
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